Liberty County resident Tiffany Morgan placed first in her class at the 2011 Eastern Seaboard Bodybuilding, Figure, Fitness and Bikini Championships, which took place May 14 in Atlanta.

Liberty County resident Tiffany Morgan has been a busy woman lately.Morgan placed first in her class at the 2011 Eastern Seaboard Bodybuilding, Figure, Fitness and Bikini Championship meet May 14 in Atlanta. Just one week earlier, she placed fifth in her class at the 2011 NPC Muscle Tech Pittsburgh Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Fitness Championship.It’s an impressive feat for the 5-foot-6 Morgan, who as a novice in October took third at the 2010 NPC Eastern USA Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Bikini Championships in New York City.With each successive meet, Morgan moves closer to her goal of earning her pro card from the National Physique Committee and the right to compete with the big guns from the International Federation of Body Building and Fitness.The National Physique Committee is the United States affiliate to the IFBB Professional League. The only way to qualify for the IFBB Professional League is through an NPC pro qualifying national contest.By placing fifth in Pittsburgh, Morgan qualified for three higher-level NPC shows. But she debated whether she should compete in Atlanta.“It was awesome and felt really good because it was my first time and I got fifth,” she said about the Pittsburgh meet. “I was really happy that I got fifth. At first I wasn’t going to do the Atlanta show because I wasn’t sure if I was going to have the funds to do it and then I did, so I decided at the last minute to go ahead and do it and I’m glad I did. It allowed me to qualify for Team Universe. That was only my third show. The first show I did back in October was a novice show and mainly for practice so really this was my second open show. It’s going a little quick and my trainers are saying, ‘Wow, you are shaking it up. The rookie is shaking it up.’”

Morgan competes as a member of Team Bombshell, which swept the Eastern Seaboard in all the bikini classes and had four second-place finishers, one third-place finisher and Morgan’s first-place win in the Figure Championships.That finish earned Morgan the right to compete at any NPC-sanctioned event to earn her pro card. She’s set her sights on a Team Universe meet in July in New Jersey and is increasing her training. During Morgan’s leg workout Monday, she did pyramid sets of squats and leg presses and hit 360 pounds during her final 10-repetition set on the leg press. “I never thought I would be able to do that,” she said. “If someone told me a year ago I would be able to do that, I would have looked at them like they were crazy.”Meanwhile, Morgan’s workout regimen isn’t for the faint of heart. “I do an hour of cardio and circuit training,” she said. “The type of cardio I do makes me tighter even though I have a high metabolism. I don’t get skinnier but my muscles get tighter. It gives me my defined hamstrings, glutes and abs. I really don’t train my abs that much because the cardio work I do takes care of that. I’m constantly working my core while I run by squeezing it for dear life. “I was eating eight times a day; now I eat seven times a day but slightly bigger meals, more cardio, more everything because it’s more intense. Everybody will be trying to go pro at this show.”Morgan said in order to earn her pro card, she would have to finish in first or second in Class D, which is for women 5 feet 6 and taller. “And once you get your pro card, you get money,” she said. “Right now, it’s just mostly hardware, but when you get your pro card, you get trophies and money. And you compete to try and get to the Olympia or the Arnold Classic. It also opens up the doors for endorsements.”A number of her Team Bombshell teammates already have earned their pro cards, and Morgan said many have endorsements from a variety of nutritional-supplement companies and fitness organizations.She said it’s her inspiration to push harder.“I would love to be pro within one year and hopefully sooner than that,” she said. “But I understand that sometimes it does take a lot longer, especially competing in figure. There are people who’ve done it for one year, two years or five years before they got their pro card. But on the flip side, there are people who have gotten it after a couple of shows.”Training is not just Morgan’s passion, it’s also her full-time job. She currently works at the Liberty County YMCA teaching water aerobics and swimming lessons. Once out of the pool, she makes her way to the weight room and pumps iron.She has about a month to prepare for the Team Universe meet and is thinking about what her future holds if she goes pro. Her goal is to compete in the Arnold Classic next year.“That would be great,” she said.